Love Golf?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I jumped into the Taylormade GAPR hybrid 3, 4, and 5. Butter.
Also grabbed the Callaway Rouge Sub Zero Driver. Quite the technology. Never played better golf in my life. Of course thats not saying muchšŸ¤£šŸ¤£.
Shooting low 80s sometimes high 70s.
Iowa sucks. The season is to short.
I'll have to grab some of my picts. I've been on way to many great golf trips.
Yeah maybe someday we can meet up and play, then hit a brewery afterward. Once this f*cking pandemic is over. You'll beat me, most likely. I'm probably in the 86-92 range on average. Hoping to drop that by about 5-10 this coming season with lots of practice. I'd say new equipment too, but only a bad musician blames his instrument...

Last year I started going to my local range and practiced every Saturday morning. I'd hit a bucket of balls, sometimes two, then go to the practice green and putt/chip for an hour or 2. It was a wonderful routine I'd settled into. Then the weather turned to sh*t.
 
Yeah maybe someday we can meet up and play, then hit a brewery afterward. Once this f*cking pandemic is over. You'll beat me, most likely. I'm probably in the 86-92 range on average. Hoping to drop that by about 5-10 this coming season with lots of practice. I'd say new equipment too, but only a bad musician blames his instrument...

Last year I started going to my local range and practiced every Saturday morning. I'd hit a bucket of balls, sometimes two, then go to the practice green and putt/chip for an hour or 2. It was a wonderful routine I'd settled into. Then the weather turned to sh*t.
Let's stay in touch and we'll make it happen. Who cares who wins or looses. It's the most rewarding yet most frustrating game You ,I,or anyone else will perfect. I play a lot at the Amana Golf Course. I'm a gluten for punishment. There, Hunters Ridge and Pleasent Valley. Nice thing about the Amana course is the brewery afterwards!
 
Let's stay in touch and we'll make it happen. Who cares who wins or looses. It's the most rewarding yet most frustrating game You ,I,or anyone else will perfect. I play a lot at the Amana Golf Course. I'm a gluten for punishment. There, Hunters Ridge and Pleasent Valley. Nice thing about the Amana course is the brewery afterwards!
Sounds great. I'd love to hit the brewery afterwards. I've never played Amana before, heard it's tough, lots of trees. I often play at Pleasant Valley because that's where my uncle typically plays since he usually buys some kind of membership each season. But we move around a bit. I don't play super often because weekends are expensive and busy and I don't always get time off during the week. I shoot for a couple times a month if I can. Maybe this year it'll be different. We'll see.
 
It currently feels like 1* outside and there's ~5 inches of fluffy snow on the ground. I took a 7 iron out and did some snow-chipping in the backyard until the ball buried enough that I can't find it now.

It's nice to know I'm not the only crazy dedicated person on this thread. Yesterday I finished dumping several yards of sand into a raised bed in my backyard, to practice bunker shots. My neighbors think that I'm nuts. I must be slipping, though. I'm going to wait until the snow melts before my next outdoor session. I'm just taking practice swings in my game room for now.
 
My son (13) is coming along... Got him his first set of real clubs for Christmas. He'd had junior clubs WAY back when, and did a golf camp several summers ago, but I wasn't playing frequently then and so it didn't go anywhere.

We've been trying to get out to the range every other Sunday (I have him 40%), and apparently his grandpa on his mom's side has been taking him to the range alternate Sundays.

We went to the range yesterday. I've finally gotten him one of the keys in rotating the left shoulder UNDER the chin on the backswing, and it reduced his sway considerably and let him keep his head centered. He's starting to get more consistent contact and get the ball elevated. He also tried his driver for the first time, and hit one that was >100 carry and rolled out to probably 150. Not yet what he's capable of even at his age, but a heck of an improvement from not having swung an adult club until early January.

I'm hoping two weeks from now to take him to the little 1115 yard 9-hole par-29 course for his first actual round of golf. Going to have to give him a crash course in golf etiquette first lol...
 
It's nice to know I'm not the only crazy dedicated person on this thread. Yesterday I finished dumping several yards of sand into a raised bed in my backyard, to practice bunker shots. My neighbors think that I'm nuts. I must be slipping, though. I'm going to wait until the snow melts before my next outdoor session. I'm just taking practice swings in my game room for now.

Uh, what? That's nutz dedicated!
 
My son (13) is coming along... Got him his first set of real clubs for Christmas. He'd had junior clubs WAY back when, and did a golf camp several summers ago, but I wasn't playing frequently then and so it didn't go anywhere.

We've been trying to get out to the range every other Sunday (I have him 40%), and apparently his grandpa on his mom's side has been taking him to the range alternate Sundays.

We went to the range yesterday. I've finally gotten him one of the keys in rotating the left shoulder UNDER the chin on the backswing, and it reduced his sway considerably and let him keep his head centered. He's starting to get more consistent contact and get the ball elevated. He also tried his driver for the first time, and hit one that was >100 carry and rolled out to probably 150. Not yet what he's capable of even at his age, but a heck of an improvement from not having swung an adult club until early January.

I'm hoping two weeks from now to take him to the little 1115 yard 9-hole par-29 course for his first actual round of golf. Going to have to give him a crash course in golf etiquette first lol...

Both my boys are good golfers. I got them jobs at the local course when they were that age. One of them also worked the driving range. I LOVED trying to hit him while he was out on the range driving the ball combine (that's a LOT harder than it looks haha). They get unlimited free rounds when they work there of course. No carts until they are 16 though.
 
Both my boys are good golfers. I got them jobs at the local course when they were that age. One of them also worked the driving range. I LOVED trying to hit him while he was out on the range driving the ball combine (that's a LOT harder than it looks haha). They get unlimited free rounds when they work there of course. No carts until they are 16 though.

I caddied at 13 at pretty swanky golf course. Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, IL, a Scottish links-style course. Caddies got to play [free] on Mondays. In late summer when the deep rough was up to your knees, you're lucky to find your ball, much less hit it out to the fairway... Only way to get it back to the fairway was to aim 90 degrees to the hole, grab your wedge, and swing as hard as you can so you can hopefully REACH the fairway!

Then the following summers at 14 and 15 I was the starter at a local 9 hole executive course. That was fun as I could play whenever I wanted, so often I'd arrive at 6 AM for a 7 AM shift and I could get around 9 holes as a single before 7.

I tried to research local caddie jobs here for my son for the upcoming summer, thinking maybe California allowed it at 13 like Illinois did... No luck. It'll take another year before he can legally work anywhere in CA (earliest is 14), and caddie jobs aren't available until 18. Grr.
 
Years ago I was in Scotland on business with a buddy who'd played golf at Stanford when Tom Watson was team captain. My buddy was pretty good. Anyway, he somehow got tee times at the Old Course at St. Andrews, so of course we ditched our obligations for the afternoon to squeeze in a once in a lifetime round. You MUST play with a caddie.

It was a first for me. First true links course and first time with a true caddie. Those guys are UN-caddy. After one or two holes, they know your game better than you do. For my caddie, that was no challenge. I spent the majority of the round "in the heather". He knew a hack in over his head (me) from the outset.

My friend however was in his element, and knew his game. On one hole later in the round he reached his drive and prepared his approach shot. He called for a 6 iron, but his caddie handed him a 4. My friend called him out and firmly requested the 6. The caddie, without saying a word, still proffered the 4. My friend, a bit miffed, demanded the 6, so the caddie silently complied. My buddy hit what looked like a clean shot.... and came up 20 yards short!

Damn caddies.

Brooo Brother
 
Years ago I was in Scotland on business with a buddy who'd played golf at Stanford when Tom Watson was team captain. My buddy was pretty good. Anyway, he somehow got tee times at the Old Course at St. Andrews, so of course we ditched our obligations for the afternoon to squeeze in a once in a lifetime round. You MUST play with a caddie.

It was a first for me. First true links course and first time with a true caddie. Those guys are UN-caddy. After one or two holes, they know your game better than you do. For my caddie, that was no challenge. I spent the majority of the round "in the heather". He knew a hack in over his head (me) from the outset.

My friend however was in his element, and knew his game. On one hole later in the round he reached his drive and prepared his approach shot. He called for a 6 iron, but his caddie handed him a 4. My friend called him out and firmly requested the 6. The caddie, without saying a word, still proffered the 4. My friend, a bit miffed, demanded the 6, so the caddie silently complied. My buddy hit what looked like a clean shot.... and came up 20 yards short!

Damn caddies.

Brooo Brother

I'm also on a drone forum. One of the guys there filmed this sweet scottland course flyover. Take a look, it's pretty unbelievable (and difficult). Ardfin in Jura Scottland. Make sure to select the 4k video quality :)

 
My friend however was in his element, and knew his game. On one hole later in the round he reached his drive and prepared his approach shot. He called for a 6 iron, but his caddie handed him a 4. My friend called him out and firmly requested the 6. The caddie, without saying a word, still proffered the 4. My friend, a bit miffed, demanded the 6, so the caddie silently complied. My buddy hit what looked like a clean shot.... and came up 20 yards short!

Damn caddies.

I should point out I was never that good of a caddie lol.

But who says "Damn caddies"? If your buddy had listened, he'd have been on the green ;-)

Despite being a caddie as a kid, I've still never played a round with a caddie on my bag. I think that would be really cool.
 
I should point out I was never that good of a caddie lol.

But who says "Damn caddies"? If your buddy had listened, he'd have been on the green ;-)

Despite being a caddie as a kid, I've still never played a round with a caddie on my bag. I think that would be really cool.

Oh, that was me saying, "Damn caddies," since clearly they have forgotten more about the game of "galf" than I'll ever know. I have no doubt they could play the game better than me as well. šŸ„“

It really was quite an experience however. Any one of them could have been Old Tom Morris himself, or at least a direct descendant. Stoic, men of few words, yet obviously very observant and knowledgeable. If I could only understand what they were saying when they talked. I swear I've had less difficulty communicating with people in France or Italy than in Scotland. Did I mention I don't speak French or Italian?

The countryside is beautiful, the history is remarkable, the people are friendly (albeit, unintelligible). The weather can turn on a dime from sunny to blustery, from balmy to damp miserable. But if you love golf and appreciate a good single malt, you owe it to yourself to visit just once.

Brooo Brother
 
Last edited:
Years ago I was in Scotland on business with a buddy who'd played golf at Stanford when Tom Watson was team captain. My buddy was pretty good. Anyway, he somehow got tee times at the Old Course at St. Andrews, so of course we ditched our obligations for the afternoon to squeeze in a once in a lifetime round. You MUST play with a caddie.

It was a first for me. First true links course and first time with a true caddie. Those guys are UN-caddy. After one or two holes, they know your game better than you do. For my caddie, that was no challenge. I spent the majority of the round "in the heather". He knew a hack in over his head (me) from the outset.

My friend however was in his element, and knew his game. On one hole later in the round he reached his drive and prepared his approach shot. He called for a 6 iron, but his caddie handed him a 4. My friend called him out and firmly requested the 6. The caddie, without saying a word, still proffered the 4. My friend, a bit miffed, demanded the 6, so the caddie silently complied. My buddy hit what looked like a clean shot.... and came up 20 yards short!

Damn caddies.

Brooo Brother
That's a neat story!
 
Really nice day out there today. Had some fun with the pano on my camera. I was pretty much the only person on the course at this time. And yes, it was 80F out there, sorry you guys in the cold places.

1613694998980.png


1613695160914.png
 
Which course is it? I've played a few down there with my son-in-law between Clearwater and Sarasota.

Chi chi. I play all of them (and there are a LOT). But the one I play at least once a week is the Chi Chi Rodriquez course. Nothing special, but it's very close to my home and I often cut out at 3pm and play it, like above.

Where's your SIL live?
 
Chi chi. I play all of them (and there are a LOT). But the one I play at least once a week is the Chi Chi Rodriquez course. Nothing special, but it's very close to my home and I often cut out at 3pm and play it, like above.

Where's your SIL live?
They're in St. Pete, Old Northeast a few blocks off Beach Drive.
 
Played yesterday at the 18-hole executive course. I had done some work on the range Wednesday, feeling GREAT, and then went back Thursday and completely forgot how to swing a golf club. Tee to green was some challenge all damn day. I only hit 3 GIR.

Oddly enough, though, my short game and putting saved me for once. You'd think that those 3 GIR would be 3 pars, but those were my only bad putting holes (4-putt and a 3-putt) so I only managed par on one of them. But I snagged 4 additional pars getting up and down from off the green, including one out of the sand. Even with those two terrible holes I only struck 31 putts in 18 holes, and my pitching game was on point.

Man... If I ever put them all together in the same round... ;)

Taking my 13 yo out to the 9 hole exec course on Saturday. It will be his first actual round of golf on a real course. I'm not sure if I'm more excited right now than he'll be when I tell him lol...
 
Had the same problem this week...

Went to the range yesterday and hit off mats, because the grass range is only Thurs->Sun. Everything started to come together on the mats. Not perfect--nothing with my game is. But it was coming together.

Then went again today and hit off grass, and everything went to... Well I can't use that word here.

I wonder if the fact that this range gets SO much use and the grass range basically needs to constantly grow grass, means that it's wetter and softer than pretty much any course in the area? That's not a problem for the club, of course, but maybe is a problem for my 260#+ body trying to hold the turf through my size 13's, given that my swing has a little too much sway and maybe isn't as balanced as I'd like?

I feel like I've completely forgotten how to swing, two weeks in a row, after moving from the mats to grass.

Course conditions here are never that soft--even the day after a rain. Am I just screwing myself by even attempting to hit off a soft grass range?

I sure hope my son doesn't beat me on Saturday lol!
 
Dunedin Golf Club this morning. Very nice course, but almost all the greens are elevated. That adds a significant challenge for the chips, and sometimes the putts.

Pic below shows last of the season's oak leaves sprinkling the tee area. My knurd buddy getting ready to place tee. Fairways are nice and wide here, and hazards are few, but those greens are challenging.

1614299334357.png
 
Snuck in a late round today.

My neighborhood course has been so busy lately. Winter here in FL is our busy season. Great weather for golf, but looking forward to slow season when the north thaws and the snow birds go home.

This is the 10th hole at Chi Chi Rodgriguez course. It's a dogleg left, elevated green. Water is near green but not really a problem here. The ball below was from the sand though.
1614914109014.png
 
Snuck in a late round today.

My neighborhood course has been so busy lately. Winter here in FL is our busy season. Great weather for golf, but looking forward to slow season when the north thaws and the snow birds go home.

This is the 10th hole at Chi Chi Rodgriguez course. It's a dogleg left, elevated green. Water is near green but not really a problem here. The ball below was from the sand though.
View attachment 720968

A pull cart on the green? Isn't that sacrilegious or something?
 
I put up a net and hitting pad in the backyard. It's nowhere near as fun as an actual round, and sure as hell isn't going to help my game but the wife showed some interest in learning how to "properly" swing a club and my 11 year old said he might want to learn. If I can at least get them hitting the ball regularly, maybe I'll have some people to play with later on down the road.
 
I put up a net and hitting pad in the backyard. It's nowhere near as fun as an actual round, and sure as hell isn't going to help my game but the wife showed some interest in learning how to "properly" swing a club and my 11 year old said he might want to learn. If I can at least get them hitting the ball regularly, maybe I'll have some people to play with later on down the road.
Hey, if they enjoy hitting the net get some plastic or foam balls and a chipping net for some fun competition. Plus will really help the game.
 
Hey, if they enjoy hitting the net get some plastic or foam balls and a chipping net for some fun competition. Plus will really help the game.
Got a bucket of foam balls when I got the net. Chipping net will be later on after we've taken care of making contact :)
All of this is partly for them to learn, but also gives me an excuse to grab a beer and get outside to swing a club to get away from the "office" since I've been working from home for almost a year now.

I took a few swings at a real ball full speed with a driver just to test the net. It held pretty well but I don't know that I'd trust too many hitting close to the same spot.
 
Got a bucket of foam balls when I got the net. Chipping net will be later on after we've taken care of making contact :)
All of this is partly for them to learn, but also gives me an excuse to grab a beer and get outside to swing a club to get away from the "office" since I've been working from home for almost a year now.

I took a few swings at a real ball full speed with a driver just to test the net. It held pretty well but I don't know that I'd trust too many hitting close to the same spot.
When I was about 13 or so, I had one of these. I lived in town so behind the net was another house (you can see where this is going...). Well, one day, I was out swinging away, obsessing as I am wont to do, and the ball when right through the damn net, flies over and smacks into the siding of the neighbor's house. I said, "****!" and ran inside. A day later, I'm outside, and the guy comes over and says to me, "I saw you hit my house." I didn't know what to say. I think I just said sorry. I can't remember if anything else happened, like if my mom had to pay for the damage or not. Wasn't much, just a little dent I think; the house was across the street. I'm just glad it didn't hit and break a window.

So the moral to the story is, yes, be weary of those nets. I'm sure they're higher quality now than they were 20+ years ago, but still, repeated use would wear it down.
 
Took the new push cart out for 9 holes this morning, first round of the seaaon. Temps were in the low 40's, all the grass was still dead, and I loved every minute I was out there.
20210313_095303.jpg

Shot a 48, which was great considering I had putting meltdowns and scored an 8 on 2 holes.
 
Took the new push cart out for 9 holes this morning, first round of the seaaon. Temps were in the low 40's, all the grass was still dead, and I loved every minute I was out there.
View attachment 722067
Shot a 48, which was great considering I had putting meltdowns and scored an 8 on 2 holes.

I'll bet those greens were RIPPING fast. Ouch.
 
Back
Top